As reported by Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet.no, the members of Norwegian black metal band Immortal are embroiled in a legal battleover the nameof the band. In December 2014, singer and guitarist Olve Eikemo, a.k.a. Abbath, claimed rights over to the band name throughhis companyEikemoCompositions,but his actionwas stoppedby the lawyerrepresenting guitaristand lyricist Harald Nævdal, a.k.a. Demonaz, and drummerReidar Horghagen, a.k.a. Horgh, who want the Immortal to be equally shared by all three members.

Abbathclaims to havelegitimatelytried tosecure the rightsto the nameand logoafterDemonazandReidar Horghagen left the bandlast summer.

In his lastletter to theNorwegianIndustrialProperty Office, Abbathclaims to havebelievedthatDemonazandHorgh wanted to quitImmortal, since bothleft therehearsal roomof the group and stopped payingtheir shareof the rentin summer 2014.

“In summer, Olvereceiveda message fromHaraldandReidarin which the twostated that theywantto take a breakfromImmortal after a quarrel hadtaken place betweenthe band members.

The bandrents arehearsal roomwhose costsare dividedbetween thethree members. HaraldandReidardid not want topay their sharesince the group, in their eyes, was not active. Olve, as main songwriter of Immortal, depended on the rehearsal room and was ready to cover all its expenses alone. The other two membersleft and thenstopped payingtheir share of therent.Olveinterpretedthis astheir desireto leave the band.The objectionofNævdalandHorghagen to the application of Eikemoappearsas an attempt topreventOlvefromexercising his profession. Hehasspent 25years trying topersonifythe characterAbbathand his musicunder thetrademarkImmortal. It isunreasonable thatthe former membersof the bandauditiontoprevent himto register the trademarkImmortal, largely becausethey are not qualified toandpresumablybecausethey do not intendto take part in thefuture activitiesof the band.”The letter alsostresses thatNævdalhasno longer played guitarsince 1997 after an injury in the arm stroke him, and that the roleofHorghagen inthe bandwas only to play drums. Lastly,Abbathargues that, as a composer andfrontman ofImmortal, he isvirtuallysynonymous with thebandandthat, as aprofessional musician, he depends on theincome generatedbyImmortal and therefore he cannot takebreaks.

The letterthenreveals thatImmortalowe a new albumto Nuclear BlastRecordsandAbbathhasalmostcompleted the workfor the album withthe help of othermusicians.

Nævdalstated toDagbladetthat he has looked over theletter ofEikemo:

“I have read it andour lawyerhas read it. We will answer. The letterofAbbathcontains incorrect information.”

A decision of the Norwegian Industrial Property Office is awaited in January or February 2015.

The trio Abbath, Demonaz, Horgh is responsible for all Immortal albums since 1996. Because of an injury in the arm in 1997, Demonaz, founding member, text writer and originally guitarist of the band, was forced to quit playing guitar; ha has however continued to a member of Immortal. Speaking to Lords of Metal in 2007 he stated the following about his status in the band: “Me and Abbath started this band, and I got problems with my arms back in 1997. Instead of finding another guitar player, Abbath just took over the guitar and we went for a new bass player. But I still tour with the band, you know”.

Abbath has also been married to Demonaz’s sister and actually two were previously brothers-in-law; Abbath has stated the following about this point: “Yes, I was married to Demonaz's sister, and I have a [teenage] son with her. She's still one of my best friends. So Demonaz and I are really like a family. There's no fucking around. Demonaz is my brother. I'm an only child. He has two sisters but no brother. But we have each other. Family is important. We have strong bonds."